Nicknames
by Super Sheba
Summary: Perhaps letting their daugher help choose a name for the baby is not such a good idea after all. Miles/Franziska


**Nicknames**

"Papa, Papa!" A little girl calls as she scrambles up her father's leg and sits herself in his lap. "Is what Mama says true?"

"Hmm?" He says in amusement at the delight and excitement alight in his daughter's smile. "What does Mama say, Elli dear?"

"Mama says that I'm going to have a baby sister." The little girl tells her father excitedly.

"Miles, how many times do I have to tell you not to call her Elli?" The girl's mother scolds as she walks into the living room and sits down in a regal, burgundy leather chair next to the fireplace. "Her name is Eloise, which has a perfect meaning, you foolish fool. I will not have you degrading our daughter with such foolishly foolish nicknames."

Miles sighs and places a hand on his forehead. Franziska is so strict with their young daughter. He knows that his wife loves their daughter deeply, but he always has to play the doting father when she's not around so that she can understand her mother's strange expression of love.

"Now Eloise, it's too early to tell whether you'll have a brother or a sister yet." Edgeworth replies as he strokes his daughters pale hair.

He smiles when he looks at Eloise. She is the spitting image of her mother as a little girl, but her personality is more curious and sweet. He has decided that it is probably a result of her interaction with Maya Fey, who constantly babysits her, and he knows that while Phoenix Wright refuses to admit it, he too plays with the little girl. Secretly, he is quite glad that the little girl is so different from her mother. Her playfulness brings diversity to their little family of three, and she is always ready to be spoiled when he is not looking.

"But Mama says I'm gonna have a sister and—" Eloise protests as she looks her father in the eyes stubbornly.

"Now, now, Eloise, speak properly." Edgeworth cuts in, knowing that his wife will do the same but in a harsher manner if he does not. "'But Mama says I'm _going to_ have a sister.'"

"But Mama says I'm going to have a sister, Papa!" Eloise tells him confidently. "And she says we need to give her a name!"

"Well if your mother says so, then it _must_ be true." Miles answers in a sarcastic manner that goes over Eloise's head.

"Yeah!" Eloise agrees, still not understanding that her father is playfully mocking her mother.

"Miles." His wife says as she sends him a glare.

"Yes, Franziska?" He asks her innocently. "What is it, _sweetie_?"

They are both glad that Eloise does not yet understand sarcasm. Her husband's sugary sweet tone is making her sick.

Franziska clears her throat as if to signal that their little quarrel is over.

"I was thinking about what we should name her." Franziska says, her voice again calm. "And no nicknames, you foolishly foolish fool."

Franziska's whip is not in her hands at the moment, but Miles knows that in mere seconds she will be whipping him if he doesn't start to behave.

"I know, I know!" Eloise exclaims, clapping her hands. "We could call her Porsche, like it says on the back of Papa's fast car!"

Miles holds back a chuckle as Franziska sighs at the naiveté of their four year old daughter.

"I don't think so, Eloise." Miles tell his daughter firmly, but gently. "I don't think the baby would like being named after a car."

"Let's call her Franzie!" The girl suggests seriously. "Like Mr. Butz calls Mama when she's not around."

Franziska's face begins to turn beet red and her fingers are twitching for the whip currently resting upstairs on her dresser.

"Eloise," Miles stops his daughter, knowing that his wife is becoming angry rather quickly. "Mama doesn't like that name, so it would be best if you did not say it, alright?"

"Yes, Papa." The little girl agrees with her father, her eyes a bit downcast.

Miles' eyes soften as he sees the sad look overtaking Eloise's features. Although she is not doing a very good job of suggesting names for the baby, he cannot help but be amused by her ideas, even if it means being whipped within an inch of his life later by Franziska.

"Try another name." Miles says as he gives his daughter an approving smile. "I'm sure you'll come up with a better one this time."

"Let's call her Scruffy." Eloise finally declares after having been lost in thought for about a minute, which for her four year old mind, is quite an extensive period of time.

It is now Franziska's turn to start laughing, but unlike her husband, she does not worry about hiding her laughter from their daughter. She is less worried about Eloise's little psyche, because she is sure that she will one day look back on her childhood and thank her mother for raising her in such a manner.

Eloise begins to sniffle and buries her head in her father's shoulder. Her little body is shaking as she begins to wail.

"Eloise Lise Edgeworth, you will stop this foolish crying immediately." Franziska orders.

Crying is not dignified for a little girl so perfect as Eloise, and Franziska will not tolerate it in her house.

Franziska's command, however, only causes the little girl to cry harder and become inconsolable.

Miles scoops the little girl up in his arms and rises from the chair. He walks over to his wife, places a soft kiss on her lips, then passes Eloise into her arms.

He cannot blame Franziska for her rough manner in raising their daughter. Growing up, Franziska had been taught that emotions were only a weakness and that showing affection was foolish. Although she is quickly learning that her father, Manfred Von Karma's, methods are not appropriate for raising their child, she is still adjusting to being a mother, and so she is not always so good with their daughter. However, despite her mother's sometimes cold demeanor, Eloise knows that she is loved deeply. Papa often tells her so, and although she is very young, she has come to understand that her mother's constant corrections are her way of showing love.

Franziska takes Eloise into her arms and rubs her back hesitantly. Eloise hiccups and inhales sharply as begins to stop crying.

"It is alright, Eloise." Franziska whispers tenderly to Eloise. "Do not cry."

When Franziska turns around and walks with Eloise towards the nursery, Miles smiles. It is moments such as these that remind him why he married her. She is rather awkward at times, but he knows that she loves their daughter fiercely, and when she needs to be, Franziska can be an amazing mother.

"Eloise, how about we name your little sister Elysia?" Franziska asks her daughter as she lays her down in her bed.

"Why Elysia, Mama?" Eloise asks curiously, wanting to understand her mother's choice in names.

"Elysia starts with 'E.'" She tells her daughter, a small smile on her lips.

That little girl is far too adorable for her own good. Eloise yawns slightly.

"I'm not tired Mama!" she says with much as much energy as she can muster.

"Alright then." Franziska answers her daughter, pretending to agree, but pulls the blankets up to her daughter's chin. "What does Eloise start with?"

"'E!'" Eloise exclaims proudly. "We'll both be 'E's'!"

Franziska knows that her daughter's sentence is incorrect grammatically, but she lets it slide as she sits down on the edge of the bed, right next to her daughter. She gently pushes Eloise's bangs out of her eyes.

"That's right, Eloise." Franziska says, proud of how smart her daughter is. "How do you spell your name, then?"

"E-l-o-i—" Eloise begins, but before she can reach the end of her sentence she has fallen asleep.

Miles stands outside the doorway and looks in on his wife. She looks so peaceful next to their daughter, stroking her hair lovingly. It amuses him that Franziska only dotes on their daughter after she has fallen asleep each night. There is a tenderness in his wife's eyes that is reserved for him and their daughter. During the day when Eloise is awake and rather rambunctious, Franziska plays disciplinarian and he plays the loving father, but when Eloise is asleep, Franziska seems to glow with pride.

They are a strange family, and she will probably always struggle to show her daughter her softer side, but they are a happy family, and Miles would not have it any other way.


End file.
